


emerald

by wyverntail



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Married Life, Pregnancy, Teaching, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but i'm not sorry lmao we need some happy right, no beta we die like glenn sry, real sorry for these fluff brainworms, sword lessons, to be expected right? lmao, when ur four year old is a sass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyverntail/pseuds/wyverntail
Summary: “It’s just a colour, Byleth.” He grumbled rolling his head back on the couch cushion. “There are seven colours in the rainbow. I like green.”“I know how many colours are in the rainbow, Felix, but why green?” Byleth emphasized, raising a brow with a mischievous smirk. She knew and she was just egging him on. This woman was insufferable as ever.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 12
Kudos: 65





	emerald

**Author's Note:**

> mel, sayl and i had a convo about how felix just sees any shade of green as 'green' and 'byleth green'... and this happened. lmao.
> 
> i hope u enjoy the tooth-rotting fluff.

“Did you know I was named after a demon?” Byleth had said, an amused smirk playing at her lips.

No, he did not know that. Though, he wasn’t surprised.

The woman had never been normal, had she?

“No, and I’m not shocked. Do you know my name means happy and lucky?” Felix had shot back, earning a snort from his wife who lay on the couch in their quarters with her feet thrown in his lap. Byleth was holding a book up over her head with one hand, her other arm thrown haphazardly across her growing abdomen. Every so often she’d wave her hand for him to reach out his hand and feel the little one move. It never got less incredible and terrifying. It was still completely surreal to both of them that they were in this position when it didn’t feel like that long ago, they were on battlefields every other week.

Now they were sitting here throwing names at each other.

“What about Ursula?” Byleth said, drawing out the last syllable with a slight raise of a brow. Felix immediately scrunched his nose at that one.

“Absolutely not. Sylvain has an aunt with that name, and she smells like thousands of perfumes that shouldn’t be mixed together,” He shook his head, and Byleth laughed softly which then turned into a groan.

She tossed the book on the ground, waving her hand at him to help hoist her up to sit properly. Another change, mostly she had still not gotten used to. Byleth had never been one to ask for help, and it was still mostly an argument to get her to rest. He had learnt to not point it out and just _do it_ when he could. There was less room for denying it that way.

“Our child is going to be nameless.” Byleth sighed exasperatedly.

“They won’t be nameless,” Felix reassured her, pulling her in to lean on his shoulder. They’d already been going back and forth on the topic for weeks, and it was exhausting if he had to be honest.

“I know, but everyone keeps writing, asking if we’re naming them after so-and-so,” She sighed, and he understood. Many people around town had been asking if they were going to name the child after his late father, or his late mother, or his late brother, or Byleth’s father, or Byleth’s mother— The list went on. That was exhausting, too.

They’d already had a conversation about _not_ using the names of their loved ones. Felix was concerned about the child feeling like they had something to live up to if they heard stories about their family members they never got to meet, the way he did about his brother who he _knew._

Perhaps it was selfish, not to honour them.

He and Byleth just wanted them to be their own people.

“Worst case scenario, we do use family names.” Felix shrugged, hoping they’d find the answers before that was the case.

“What, you don’t want a little Felix?” She asked, earning a quick scowl.

“No, that’s _my_ name.”

~

Several weeks later, when Byleth was even more uncomfortable and restless, they sat down to make a decision. Felix had several pillows with his wife propped up on his lap, leaning against the arm of the couch as she tried to stay interested while he read off lists of names. The fire was crackling, snow falling quietly outside their windows and they were cozy inside, driving themselves into the ground over this one decision.

“How much longer do we have?” Felix asked, earning a small shove and a glare from Byleth.

“There is no time left,” She said sternly.

His mouth hung open for a moment, trying to decipher what she meant. Wait, did she mean—?

“I don’t mean right _now,_ I just can’t wait anymore,” Byleth sighed, closing her eyes. “Last night I had a dream about my father, and he told me to name the baby _Pint._ ”

“ _Pint,_ ” Felix repeated.

“Yes, _Pint,_ like his favourite unit of ale,” She groaned while Felix bit back a laugh. “It is not funny, Felix.”

“Alright, alright.” He repositioned himself to get in the mindset of looking again without dwelling on the strange dreams she’d been having lately.

Everything was blurring together.

Felix would call out a name and Byleth would reply.

_“Too pretty.”_

_“Too boring.”_

_“I knew a person in Jeralt’s company with that name.”_

_“Too noble.”_

_“How did you pronounce that?”_

_“How do you_ spell _that?”_

_“Isn’t that one of our friend’s kid’s names?”_

What a nuisance.

The couple hadn’t been like several of their friends, who’d made lists long before they’d even announced they were expecting. Annette and Ashe, ever the planners, had announced the names the moment they told everyone they had a new arrival on the way. Dimitri had gone the honouring route, and that was no surprise, where as Ingrid and Dorothea decided to give their girls strong historical feminine names to build their own legacies upon. Mercedes and Dedue decided to use a mix of both of their heritages, and it worked great for them.

Sylvain probably had spawn somewhere out there, but he wasn’t involved in that process.

No, Felix and Byleth reserved their naming duties for all of their animals after years of waiting for a child of their own.

For the stray cats they’d find along the way, or the puppies Byleth would more or less have to convince him of. He’d always come around after a while, but they were much more slobbery messes than the cats…

They used up names like Moralta, Levin, and Begalta on the cats. Sophisticated and distinguished names for the nimble felines who occupied their home. Felix insisted on naming the dog's things like Dagger, Javelin, and Lancer to make them appear a little tougher. They were still dopey idiots. He learned to love them all the same.

But they couldn’t just name their kid after their swords or weapons. Byleth said it was too predictable, and they’d already used most of them, anyway.

Still, Zoltan was _kind_ of cool…

Felix was about to toss the book away for the night when a certain name caught his eye. It didn’t sound too bad, and the meaning actually had _meaning…_ to him at least. It was worth a shot with Byleth.

“How about Esmé?” He tried out, looking over the top of his book to gauge her reaction. She did that little head tilt she always did, testing out the name softly before she looked back up at him. That was a different reaction from most of the others. It didn’t seem like she hated it.

“What does it mean?”

Beloved. Emerald.

She didn’t need to know about the ‘beloved’ part.

“It means emerald,” Felix shrugged, remaining indifferent about it.

“Emerald?” She questioned, her brows furrowing as she looked up at him with those curious eyes he loved so much. Still, after all these years, it made his stomach do flips. “You like emeralds?”

No, he didn’t particularly like _emeralds._

They just happened to be _green._

Like the incredible jolt of colour that cut through the sky the moment he thought he lost her all those years ago.

The vibrant hues of her stare as she notched yet another win against him in their training grounds.

Not unlike the same emeralds in the ring he’d given her when he asked her to be his wife.

For the intense and commanding gaze of her giving orders to her Knights and addressing the people.

It was the first shock colour he saw on the horizon when he was notified of her arrival when she’d been away.

And the shade of the messy locks he woke up to in the morning light, when she was warm and nestled into his chest.

Green like her hair, and her eyes.

“I like green,” He said dismissively, pulling his book back into his vision to block his wife’s face.

The second her slender fingers grabbed the pages in front of him, he knew he was in for it, already rolling his eyes and sighing as her smiling face came into view.

“And why do you like green, Felix?”

“It’s just a colour, Byleth.” He grumbled rolling his head back on the couch cushion. “There are seven colours in the rainbow. I like green.”

“I know how many colours are in the rainbow, Felix, but why _green?_ ” Byleth emphasized, raising a brow with a mischievous smirk. She knew and she was just egging him on. This woman was insufferable as ever.

With a sigh, Felix reached out to cup her cheek, pressing his lips under her right eye, under her left, and then to her forehead where he lingered for a moment. He gently rubbed his calloused thumb against the soft skin of her cheek, kissing her there just one more time.

“It reminds me of my wife.” Pulling back to look at her face again, he felt his cheeks go pink at the sight of her soft smile and glassy eyes. “Happy?” 

As Byleth snaked her hand up his forearm, she laced her fingers in his and placed a kiss on his palm before pressing it to her belly.

“Esmé.”

“Yeah.”

“I like it,” She nodded, and he couldn’t help but smile softly back at her.

Felix wasn’t quite sure why this decision felt so important in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps it was because he hoped this child of theirs could cut an entirely new path of their own in this new world they were trying so hard to build. Or maybe, because it would be a new piece of the family neither of them had anymore. Either way, it was an awfully big new beginning. One he was actually excited to embark on with his incredible wife.

“Now we need a boy’s name.”

“Seiros, Byleth—“

~

They never figured out another name.

And thankfully, they didn’t need it.

Esmé had made her entrance in typical Fraldarius fashion; on one of the coldest days of the year, in a snowstorm, in the middle of the Faerghus winter and screaming bloody murder (much to her parent's relief.) While the weather conditions weren’t ideal, it meant they’d spent the majority of her first few days in the same spot they’d agonizingly thought about her name for so long. The only difference now is that they were sitting in front of the fire with her in their arms.

Felix left his small family briefly to grab a couple more blankets, and when he returned, he couldn’t help but to stand in the doorway for a moment and observe. In his absence, Byleth had begun to softly sing a song he wasn’t familiar with, but from the lilting melody, he could only assume it was one of her father’s old drinking songs. On the occasional night when they’d indulged in a little bit too much alcohol, Byleth had serenaded him with reenactments of these unruly tunes. This one was without all of the fancy dance moves.

And soon enough she stopped.

“Your father thinks he’s being sneaky, but he’s not,” Byleth said, looking back over her shoulder with a smile. Yet another title to get used to, but one he was more than proud to bear.

His amber eyes averted to the floor as he walked back towards the couch, feeling his cheeks flush at her observation. He’d never managed to sneak up on her often, had he?

“Sorry, I had to take a moment to ponder why my wife would sing our baby some silly tavern song,” Locking eyes with his wife as he sat next to her, that infectious smile widened.

“I figured I’d give her a head start on a variety of musical genres,” Byleth shrugged as he draped another blanket over her legs. “She’ll learn all those boring hymnals from Seteth soon enough…”

“Don’t ever let him hear you say that,” Felix snorted, leaning into her shoulder to look at the tiny sleeping bundle in his wife’s arms.

“Do you want to hold her?” She mumbled, already shifting her position to pass their daughter off to him. He felt his heartbeat speed up in his chest slightly, cursing himself to calm down. It wasn’t like he was in a life or death scenario; he was just holding his daughter for Goddess sake. But maybe that’s what made it so terrifying. She was his responsibility.

It reminded him of the time he’d met Dimitri’s son for the first time, and Byleth had insisted he hold him, too.

_“It’s just like holding a cat, Felix, you’ve done it thousands of times”_ She’d said, rolling her eyes in amusement.

_“And if I drop a cat, they fall on their_ ** _feet._** _If I drop the heir to the throne, I lose my_ ** _head,_** _”_ He’d shot back, his entire body tense as she handed over the tiny Dimitri clone.

This was so entirely different.

It was easier to calm down once Byleth placed her in his arms, her head nestled perfectly in the crook of his elbow, her small body conforming to his like she was meant to be there all this time. It was like he was never without her in the first place. Like this was always meant to happen at some point. Felix couldn’t imagine a life without her now and it had only been three whole days.

He really never thought he’d be here.

“I can’t believe she’s real.”

“I can,” Byleth snorted, pressing a caste kiss on the top of her dark hair before leaning on his shoulder. It hadn’t been the easiest, no matter how he tried to alleviate her stressors. “I understand, though.”

They had let Mercedes in on Byleth’s situations early on, and she’d been monitored closely the entire time. The anxiety of what could happen was always there for Byleth, though he was more inclined to be a little more optimistic. Saints, his wife had cut a hole through the sky. But there had been many tearful nights of Byleth telling him what to do if they had to resort to the same thing that happened with her mother. He’d tearfully, _selfishly_ begged her _not_ to do it if it came to that. Instead, their best-case scenario happened, and neither of them could compose themselves very well. Even Mercedes was a sobbing mess, scolding them for making her cry on the job. It had been an overwhelming relief.

All of their attention was taken when she started to wiggled around, scrunching her little face up into a thousand different expressions before she popped one eye open and then the other to grumpily stare up at her parents. It was far too soon to tell, as Mercedes had told them, what her eye colour would be in the end, but Felix silently hoped they’d turn out similar to Byleth’s. The same as the ones they’d named her after.

“Hey, little gem,” Felix whispered softly, holding out a finger for her small hand to grasp tightly.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Byleth’s smile return wider than before as she leaned in to kiss their daughter’s head once more before holding his chin and pressing several kisses to his temple.

“I love you both.”

~

When to begin teaching swordsmanship was a hot topic in the Eisner Fraldarius household.

Felix, as usual, was impatient as ever to get started and teach Esmé as soon as possible, whereas Byleth had felt a little bit more conservative on the matter. She didn’t _need_ to learn as early as both of them had. She had time to be a child for a little bit longer, despite her parent's excitement.

Byleth had settled on starting footwork at three and a half and learning with a training sword at four.

They had almost caved several times before that, wondering if they were doing her a disservice for starting her a little bit later than they had. Her precision was… eerily good, as evident by the holes in the wall near the kitchen from where she’d thrown several pieces of cutlery, narrowly missing her parent's heads every time.

They’d even debated starting her with a bow because of those skills.

But Esmé had made it abundantly clear she was at least _interested_ in following her parent's footsteps, only slightly.

The girl had always been more than eager to watch her parents spar whenever she was left with a nanny (which was not often if they could help it). They would stand off to the side, and she would watch and clap for whoever won, and once she found the words to speak, she’d always ask when they would teach her how to fight like that.

And oh, were they more than happy to teach her.

It was a slightly different world now, of course, one where she would hopefully not have to use the skills as they had before her. But nevertheless, they were important life skills in Fòdlan.

Byleth watched as Esmé bounced to the middle of the training grounds with Felix following closely behind as she got comfortable on the sidelines with their two-year-old son in her lap. Thankfully, he was like his sister before him and was more than happy to watch everything that was going on. And Byleth wouldn’t miss this first real lesson for the world.

“Alright, Gem, are you ready?” Felix asked their daughter, a proud grin escaping though she could tell he was trying to be sterner.

Esmé nodded enthusiastically, the unruly stubborn dark strands of hair flying from her braid as she bounced with excitement.

Instead of carrying two silver swords as Felix usually did, today he had one training sword for himself, and another more appropriately sized for their child. He removed the smaller sword now and held it in front of them, watching as her green eyes widened in awe of her very own practice weapon.

“What is this?” Felix asked, holding out the proper wooden training sword in front of the little girl. Her green eyes went from the sword back up to her father’s eyes with so much sass for a tiny thing.

“A sword,” Esmé said, with as much attitude as a four-year-old could muster.

He walked right into that one.

And _Byleth_ didn’t teach her that.

She really was his daughter.

“And what do you do with a sword?”

“You don’t hit Papa in the head,” She said from memory, giving a small pout. Felix had to bite his lip to hold back the chuckle that threatened to escape, but Byleth couldn’t help it. It had become a common phrase in the household since Sylvain had gifted their daughter with a small wooden sword for her second birthday.

“You are correct,” He started slowly, settling back into the actual topic of his first real lesson. “But you use a sword to defend yourself and others. For protection. ”

Byleth watched as Felix took her small hands and folded them over the grip of the training sword properly. Their daughter’s concentrated stare was so familiar to her, mirroring that of her father’s as they both looked at their hands as he spoke. He was teaching her about the importance of swordsmanship and what it meant to them. How it wasn’t only a weapon, but a tool in discipline, precision, and self-control.

Over the years, it had become abundantly clear how excited Felix was for this very day. When she’d been able to sit up, it was the anticipation of being able to walk; and once that was out of the way, the moment she held her first toy sword in her hands (and swiftly threw it across the room) was the second-best day of his life. Byleth had brought up the topic of him taking the lead of teaching their daughter her first lessons when the time came, and it was like she’d given him some earth-shattering gift. They’d already agreed she would get the next go with their son, who was happily playing with her hands as he sat in her lap.

From the outside, this dynamic was probably strange; being so excited to teach your children specialized weaponry.

But it was a very important part of who they are and why they were the way they were.

And if they wanted to do something different when the day came, they would (painfully) do anything their children asked.

Thankfully, Esmé seemed more than happy to indulge her parents love for swordsmanship at the moment.

Once her grip was settled, Felix stood and removed his own training sword from his belt, her large jade eyes following his every move as he began to teach her some basic conditioning. They were the motions they knew like the back of their hands, the ones they could do with their eyes closed, upside down, or in their sleep, if they had to. It made Byleth’s chest tight with pride to watch her husband teaching their daughter about the thing that brought them together in the first place.

And as could be expected from their child, she was picking it up pretty quickly.

A focused frown set in on her tiny features as she stared between her wrist and her father’s approving gaze, her little tongue poking out in concentration. Many of her features may have been passed down from her parents but that one… that was all the Blade Breaker. Many people didn’t know it, but Jeralt would be sewing patches in Byleth’s clothes or giving her stitches after a particularly gnarly battle and his tongue would stick out in the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.

While she loved the reminder, it just wouldn’t do in the training grounds.

“Esmé, watch your tongue,” Byleth called out with a small smirk. The girl’s concentration faltered only slightly, sticking her tongue out even more at her mother, causing her little brother to burst into a fit of giggles. She pressed a kiss on the top of his dark head of hair, unable to contain the short laugh that escaped her.

Felix locked eyes with her as they both shook their heads at their daughter’s antics.

“Gem, focus.” He said tapping her wooden blade. Esmé snapped right back into concentration with her brows furrowed and eyes glued onto what her hands were doing.

They continued these basic steps for a while before Felix took the liberty of showing her how to do _just_ one fun move. It was a basic swing, and Byleth saw her eyes light up as he demonstrated before helping her practice.

As he finally stepped back to let her to it on her own, both parents watched as she furrowed her brows in concentration. She steadied herself before bringing the sword down in a swift downward swing, holding it there at looking up at her father for approval before making another move. It was shaky, and a bit unbalanced, but it was good for her first try.

“Good try,” Felix said with a proud smile.

Esmé immediately tossed the sword on the ground and jumped up excitedly, throwing a fist in the air with a shout.

“Mama, did you see that?” She shouted, running towards Byleth with a huge smile on her face and clearly proud of herself.

“I did,” Byleth smiled back at her, feeling genuine excitement for the girl. She’d waited so long for this. “You’re doing very well.”

“Did you see, Caim, I swung a real sword!” Esmé said again, lifting her little brother into her arms and spinning him around. “Someday, you’re gonna have one, and then we can spar like Mama and Papa—.”

The little girl wandered off twirling around with her little brother, telling him stories about what they would do when he was old enough when she felt Felix’s arm brush up against hers as he sat beside her. They sat and watched as their two children laughed and talked, on the dirt arena they’d spent so much of their lives together.

“How was that?” Byleth asked, looping her arm around his and leaning her head on his shoulder.

“She’s a little wobbly, but we’ll work on it,” He said, earning an elbow in the ribs from his wife. Felix knew what she meant. “It was better than I could have hoped for. My fucking face hurts from smiling all day…” He trailed off, rubbing his cheeks with an annoyed sigh. Most people would have never expected a sentence like that to come from the ever grumpy Fraldarius.

Byleth had to laugh as she rubbed his arm. She understood the sentiment. The Ashen Demon never could have imagined a peace like this.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Sylvain.”

“You better not.”

**Author's Note:**

> voila. my felileth kids names are in the wild. i'd had esmé picked out before the green convo bc... green. i thought it was a sweet homage to byleth. but it made it even better with the green convo. 
> 
> caim came about bc i wanted byleth to have one demon child. caim is depicted as a blackbird, and shifts into man with a sharp sword who walks on coals? seemed v fitting for a felileth child if you ask me. (byleth found a book of demon lore in abyss and brought them to felix, u can't change my mind.)
> 
> anyway, i hope u like them. they're my favourite kids lmao.


End file.
